1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to seating arrangements, and more particularly to comfortable multi-level seats that are easy to access.
2. Description of the Related Art
For most air travelers, getting a good sleep in the skies is always a challenge. Seats are usually squeezed together particularly in the coach sections. During the travel downturn in recent years, carriers have been slimming down their fleets to save money. With increase in demand, airlines have been finding ways to meet demands without adding more planes.
Many airlines have been adding seats, particularly to the international flights. In one year, from 2004 to 2005, international seat capacity has increased by more than 10%. Different designs have been used to increase the capacity. For example, AirTran sticks each passenger's knees into an area in the back of the seat in front to get an extra row of seats on the new 737-700 jets it ordered in 2003. In 2000, American Airlines added more leg room in the coach section. With fliers complaining about paying more for the privilege, American Airlines added seats back onboard. Those few extra seats could add millions of dollars in revenues over the life of the planes.
In addition to getting more seats, airlines are adding more flights to their existing fleets. The number of flights after 11 pm was up more than 20% in September 2004 from a year ago. There are even 19-hour trips on the way. Providing a comfortable resting environment is becoming an urgent matter.
Airlines need to provide more comfort to attract customers. The battleground has moved to the coach section due to the significant drop in high-paying corporate travel and the rise of budget carriers. The focus is typically in the seat design because better seats should win more economy passengers. This can include more foot room underneath and added leg rests.
Air France sells its new economy-class seats by offering more leg support through foot rests and a seat bottom that can slide forward slightly as the back reclines. In 2003, JetBlue decided to remove the last row of seats because they cannot recline fully. This allows JetBlue to add leg room, but only for the back 16 rows. On certain flights using Airbus A330s, Northwest Airlines provides each coach passenger with a video screen, a headrest that flips out to help sleeping, a bottom cross-bar that moves forward to give more shin room under the seat in front, and a lowered cushion to relieve pressure on the thighs.
Though many airlines are trying to improve their coach seats, due to the cramped coach space, the coach seats are still far inferior in comfort as compared to the business class seats and the first class seats. The business class and first class seats can better conform to typical resting or sleeping profile of the passengers. The seat backs can be significantly tilted and the leg rests can be tilted as well.
Many airlines are also providing different amenities to help people sleep. For example, Continental spent $26,000 on each of its new international seats for first class passengers, which translates to more than a million a plane. Having comfortable seats is only one factor. Other airlines have been providing warm milk, extra pillows, adjustable headrests and cabin temperatures more suitable for sleeping. Northwest and US Airways even limit to two announcements for certain 4-hour-red-eye flights.
However, no matter what the airlines provide, passengers are bound to leave their seats from time to time. If a coach passenger in an interior seat, such as a window seat, wants to go to the lavatory, a passenger at the aisle seat has to stand up to allow the interior passenger to pass through. The passenger in an aisle seat thus is likely to be disturbed and will have difficulty sleeping.
It should be apparent from the foregoing that there is still a need for better seating comfort particularly for the coach passengers, but still can allow airlines to carry similar numbers of seats. Furthermore, it is desirable that the seating arrangements allow interior passengers to access to aisles without requiring other passengers to move.